FREMONT - Area teenagers with an interest in computer coding took over Terra State Community College's Ronald L. Neeley Conference and Hospitality Center this weekend.

The nonprofit group We Connect the Dots hosted a Back-to-School Code-A-Thon at the Neeley Center, with 25 middle and high school students from Toledo to Fremont staying overnight at the center to learn about coding as they worked in small groups and built their own websites

Elizabeth Royster, an engineer with the Sandusky County Engineer's Office, helped organize the local Code-A-Thon with Fremont biomedical engineer Doug Steinberger.

Royster said it was the first Code-A-Thon held in Ohio, with students at Terra State communicating via simulcast with students participating in Code-A-Thons in Pennsylvania and New York.

She said the students were ages 13 to 18 and would be working in groups of three or four to build their websites.

"The goal of the website is to try to take care of a world need," Royster said, adding that it could be any topic the students choose, such as climate change or world hunger.

The Back-to-School Code-A-Thon is a consecutive 48-hour competitive learning experience that teaches students how to write code in HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript, according to We Connect The Dots.

Students at Terra State brought pillows and sleeping bags and slept at the center Friday and Saturday nights.

Royster said students would present their projects Sunday afternoon to judges, with the top three groups winning prizes.

Ron Schumacher, executive director of the Terra College Foundation, spoke to students Friday at the event kickoff, Royster said.

Code-A-Thon volunteer Vincent Occhiogrosso gathered students in front of whiteboards for a mindmapping activity Friday.

Royster said none of the students knew each other prior to the weekend's events at Terra State and would be engaged in team building exercises Friday.

Students were asked about their levels of coding experience and basic programming skills prior to the Code-A-Thon, Royster said.

Sneha Mashalkar, 14, a student at Toledo's Notre Dame Academy, said she had no previous coding experience, but wanted to learn about it. She joked that her mother "kind of forced her to sign up."

"I'm interested in computers," Mashalkar said.

Mashalkar said she was interested in building a website for Code-A-Thon that focused on reducing pollution on a global scale.

Royster said Terra State had been extremely helpful in making the Neeley Center available for the event.

She said students would be learning about cybersecurity Saturday and the importance of protecting their passwords.

dacarson@gannett.com

419-334-1046

Twitter: @DanielCarson7

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Students gather for a weekend of coding at the Back-to-School Code-A-Thon at Terra State Community College.(Photo: Molly Corfman/The News-Messenger)